Keeping Up with the Affordable Care Act

Over the next four years, different aspects of the Affordable Care Act, our country’s new health care reform law, will be put into place. Here’s what you need to know right now:

1. The federal government has launched a new website www.healthcare.gov, where you can find up-to-date information aboutÂ your health care options. On the site you can also determine if you qualify for a government health program.

2. Individuals with preexisting health conditions who have been unable to get health insurance can now enroll in the temporary high-risk insurance pool, called the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. This plan will stay in place until January 2014, which is when insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on a preexisting medical condition.

3. If you have a new health insurance plan or insurance policy that begins on or after September 23, 2010, there are certain preventive services that the plan must cover without your having to pay a copayment or coinsurance or meet your deductible, when these services are delivered by a network provider. These services include mammography, breast cancer risk reduction counseling, cervical cancer screening, and osteoporosis screening for all women over age 60 who have specific risk factors. You can see the full list of Covered Preventive Services.